Mobile tower with elevator for making overhead assemblies



C. A. HARLAN Sept. 4, 1956 MOBILE TOWER WITH ELEVATOR FOR MAKINGOVERHEAD ASSEMBLIES Filed Dec. 15. 1952 O ID IN VEN TOR.

CAMPBELL ALLEN HARLAN BY W1! 9 ATTORN Y5 United States Patent MOBILETOWER WITH ELEVATOR FOR MAKING OVERHEAD ASSEMBLIES Campbell AllenHarlan, Birmingham, Mich. Application December 15, 1952, Serial N0.326,028

9 Claims. (Cl. 214-103) The present invention relates to apparatus formaking overhead assemblies.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for makingoverhead assemblies comprising a tower having wheels at its lower end bymeans of which it may readily be moved over the ground or floor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a movabletowerhaving at its upper end a platform for supporting a workman and aprotective rail surrounding the platform.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tower ofthe character described having a trackway extending from top to bottomthereof along one side, and a carriage movable on said trackway.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tower ofthe character described including a trackway which is inclined inwardlyand upwardly.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide PatentedSept. 4, 1956 understood that if desired, larger wheels might be emaretrack members 24 adapted to support a carriage a tower of the characterdescribed including a carriage in which the carriage is provided withtrack engaging means spaced substantially below the upper side thereofto permit movement of said carriage to a position substantially abovethe upper end of said trackway. 7

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a tower constructed in accordance withthe present invention. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the tower shownin Figure l.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure l.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation, the upper end of 'the'tower showing the carriage inelevated position.

The apparatus for making overhead assemblies comprises a tower made upof front corner posts 19 which are inclined rearwardly and upwardly, andrear corner posts 12 which are herein shown as vertical. The cornerposts are interconnected at their lower ends by horizontal frame members14 and adjacent their upper ends by horizontal frame members 16.Intermediate the frame members 14 and 16, the corner posts are connectedby horizontal frame members 18. Carried by the upper frame member 16 isa floor or platform 20 on which the workman stands. The corner posts 10and 12 extend upwardly above the platform 20 and are interconnected attheir upper ends by horizontal frame members 22, thus providing aprotective railing surrounding the platform.

tower structure over the floor or ground and these means are illustratedas caster wheels 23 which are located adjacent the bottom corners of thetower. The caster wheels may be mounted for free angular movement aboutvertical axes so that the tower may be moved readily in any direction.The size of the ground wheels 23 ilmounted generally at 26. As best seenin Figure 3, the track members 24 may be of generally C-shapedcrosssection to receive supporting rollers 28 carried by the carriage26. p

The carriage 26, as best seen in Figure 4, comprises a shelf 30connected at its read edge to frame members 32 which extend parallel toand lie between the tracks 24. Brace members 34 extend upwardly fromframe members 32 to the forward edge of the shelf. The rollers 28 arecarried by the frame members 32 and it will be observed in Figure 4 thatthe supporting rollers 28 are located substantially below the shelfportion 30 of the carriage. It will also be observed in this figure thatthe tracks 24 extend upwardly to the railing 22, thus when the upperpair of rollers 28 is at the upper end of the track the shelf portion 30of the carriage is located substantially above the railing 22. Thispermits the shelf to be raised high enough to position an articlecarried thereby at proper elevation for direct attachment to supportingstructure while it remains supported on the shelf. At the same time, thecarriage may be lowered to permit the tower to be moved under dependingstructure in a building such for example as previously assembled pipes,girders, or the like.

Means are provided for effecting up and down movement of the carriage 26and this means comprises a drum 36 driven by an electric motor 33mounted on the tower. Carried by the drum is a cable 40 which extendsdownwardly from the drum and beneath a sheave 42 and thence upwardly andover a second sheave 44, and thence downwardly substantially in theplane of the trackway where the end of the cable is connected to thecarriage 26 adjacent the lower end thereof.

Preferably, control means such as push button switch means illustratedat 46 is provided, and as seen in the figures, this control-means isconveniently located on the railing 22 so that the workman may controlthe raisingand lowering of the carriage 26.

The shelf portion 30 of the carriage may be provided,

with roller means adapted to cooperate with the particular type ofarticles being assembled. Thus for example, in Figure 1 the shelfportion 30 is illustrated as provided with a multiplicity of smallrollers 56 on which a relatively heavy article may be supported andmoved freely longitudinally of the shelf. The rollers 50 may be of aboutthe size and construction of roller skate wheels positioned so that theupper surface thereof defines a horizontal flat plate over whicharticles may be moved longitudinally of the shelf.

Alternatively, the shelf may be provided with spaced pairs of rolls suchas illustrated at 52 in Figure 4, and these rolls will be spaced apartlongitudinally of the platform so as to support an elongated cylindricalarticle such as illustrated at 54. The article 54 may for example,

- be a section of pipe adaptedto be threaded to a pipe Means areprovided to facilitate movement of the lustrated in the figures issuitable for use on a cement floor in a partially completed building andit will be moved'reaidily over the floor or ground to any position.-

where assemblies are to be made. providing a carriage having a shelfwhich may be elevated substantially above any portion of the permanenttower structure, articles carried by the shelf portion of the carriagemay be elevated into substantially the exact position in which they areto be assembled. By providing roller means on the shelf of the carriage,movements of the articles carried thereby into exact position arefacilitated and, in the case of the rollers 52, suitable rotation of themembers may be provided for to permit threading of the articles intoassembled position.

Since the elevation of the carriage 26 is under the control of theoperator who is standing on the platform 20, it is possible for him tocontrol the raising of the shelf 30 and the article carried thereby intothe exact position of elevation required by the assembly. The rearwardand upward inclination of the trackway provides for increased stabilitysince upward movement of the carriage results in inward movementthereof, thus causing the loads carried by the shelf of the carriage tobe supported more nearly intermediate all of the ground engaging Wheelsof the tower.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description ofthe improved apparatus for making overhead asssemblies in such full,clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by theappended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, and a carriage carried by and movablerelative to said tower, said tower having at the lower corners thereofground engaging wheels mounted for free angular movement, whereby saidtower and carriage as a unit may be moved over the ground in anydirection, said tower having at the top thereof a platform for a workmanand provided above said platform with a protective railing, an upwardlyand inwardly inclined trackway at one side of said tower, said trackwayextending from the bottom of said tower to said railing, said carriagebeing movable along said trackway, said carriage having at its upper endan article supporting portion and provided below said article supportingportion with a downwardly extending supporting framework, means on saidsupporting framework substantially below the upper end thereofinterconnected with and movable along said trackway to guide saidcarriage during movement thereof relative to said tower, whereby saidarticle supporting portion will be projected above said railing whensaid means reaches the upper end of said trackway, so that an article onsaid supporting portion may be assembled with a part of an overheadconstruction of said building, the degree of inclination of saidtrackway relative to the upright longitudinal median line of said towerbeing such that a load on said article supporting portion will besupported intermediate all of the ground engaging wheels aforesaidthroughout movement of said carriage lengthwise of said tower.

2. In apparatus for marking overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, and a carriage carried by and movablerelative to said tower, said tower having at the lower corners thereofground engaging wheels mounted for free angular movement whereby saidtower and carriage as a unit may be moved over the ground in anydirection, said tower having at the top thereof a platform for a workmanand provided above said platform with a protective railing, an upwardlyand inwardly inclined trackway at one side of said tower, said trackwayextending from the bottom of said tower to said railing, said carriagebeing movable along said trackway, said carriage having at its upper endan article supporting portion and provided below said article supportingportion with a downwardly extending supporting framework, means on saidsupporting framework substantially below the upper end thereofinterconnected with At the same time, by i and movable along saidtrackway to guide said carriage during movement thereof relative to saidtower, whereby said article supporting portion will be projected abovesaid railing when said means reaches the upper end of said trackway, sothat an article on said supporting portion may be assembled with a partof an overhead construction of said building, said article supportingportion having a multiplicity of small rollers on which an article to beassembled with the part aforesaid of an overhead construction of saidbuilding may be supported and moved freely relative to said articlesupporting portion, said rollers being arranged in closely spaced rows,the rollers in each row being axially aligned.

3. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, and a carriage carried by and movablerelative to said tower, said tower having at the lower corners thereofground engaging wheels mounted for free angular movement whereby saidtower and carriage as a unit may be moved over the ground in anydirection, said tower having at the top thereof a platform for a workmanand provided above said platform with a protective railing, an upwardlyand inwardly inclined trackway at one side of said tower, said trackwayextending from the bottom of said tower to said railing, said carriagebeing movable along said trackway, said carriage having at its upper endan article supporting portion and provided below said article supportingportion with a downwardly extending supporting framework, means on saidsupporting framework substantially below the upper end thereofinterconnected with and movable along said trackway to guide saidcarriage during movement thereof relative to said tower, whereby saidarticle supporting portion will be projected above said railing whensaid means reaches the upper end of said trackway, so that an article onsaid supporting portion may be assembled with a part of an overheadconstruction of said building, said article supporting portion having apair of spaced parallel rolls for receiving thereon for rotationrelative to said article supporting portion an article adapted to beassembled with the part aforesaid of an overhead construction of saidbuilding.

4. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, a movable carriage, and means for movingsaid carriage, said tower having two vertical rear corner posts, twofront corner posts inclining upwardly and inwardly relative to said rearposts, horizontal frame members interconnecting the posts aforesaid attheir lower ends, horizontal frame members interconnecting said postsadjacent their upper ends, a platform for workmen upon the lastmentioned frame members, horizontal frame members interconnecting saidposts at their upper ends and ,forming a protective railing about saidplatform for workmen thereon, ground engaging wheels supporting saidtower at the bottom thereof, said wheels being mounted for free angularmovement about vertical axes, whereby said tower and carriage as a unitmay be moved .over the ground in any direction, track members disposedbetween and inclining in conformity with the inclination of said frontcorner posts, said track members terminating at and connected to thefirst and last mentioned horizontal frame members, said carriage havinga horizontal shelf provided therebelow with downwardly converging frontand rear supporting members, said rear supporting members being betweensaid track members and connected at their upper ends to said shelf atthe rear thereof, said front supporting members being terminallyconnected to said rear supporting members adjacent their lower ends andto said shelf at the front thereof, rollers carried by said rearsupporting members adjacent the connection thereof with said frontsupporting members and engaging said track members, whereby saidcarriage may move lengthwise of said tower to project the shelfaforesaid above the railing aforesaid, so that an article carried bysaid shelf may be positioned at the proper elevation for directattachment to a part of an overhead construction of said building, themeans for moving said carriage relative to said tower including anelectric motor mounted on said tower intermediate the upper and lowerends thereof, a drum driven by said electric motor, a sheave carried byone of the first men tioned horizontal frame members, a second sheavecarried by said railing and a cable extending from said drum beneath thefirst mentioned sheave and over the second mentioned sheave to saidcarriage.

5. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, a movable carriage, and means for movingsaid carriage, said tower having two vertical rear corner posts, twofront corner posts inclining upwardly and inwardly relative to said rearposts, horizontal frame members interconnecting the posts aforesaid attheir lower ends, horizontal frame members interconnecting said postsadjacent their upper ends, a platform for workmen upon the lastmentioned frame members, horizontal frame members interconnecting saidposts at their upper ends and forming a protective railing about saidplatform for workmen thereon, ground engaging wheels supporting saidtower at the bottom thereof, said wheels being mounted for free angularmovement about vertical axes, whereby said tower and carriage as a unitmay be moved over the ground in any direction, track members disposedbetween and inclining in conformity with the inclination of said frontcorner posts, said track members terminating at and connected to thefirst and last mentioned horizontal frame members, said carriage havinga horizontal shelf provided therebelow with downwardly converging frontand rear supporting members, said rear supporting members being betweensaid track members and connected at their upper ends to said shelf atthe rear thereof, said front supporting members being terminallyconnected to said rear supporting members adjacent their lower ends andto said shelf at the front thereof, rollers carried by said rearsupporting members adjacent the connection thereof with said frontsupporting members and engaging said track members, whereby saidcarriage may move lengthwise of said tower to project the shelfaforesaid above the railing aforesaid, so that an article carried bysaid shelf may be positioned at the proper elevation for directattachment to a part of an overhead construction of said building, themeans for moving said carriage relative to said tower including anelectric motor mounted on said tower intermediate the upper and lowerends thereof, a drum driven by said electric motor, a sheave carried byone of the first mentioned horizontal frame members, a second sheavecarried by said railing and a cable extending from said drum beneath thefirst mentioned sheave and over the second mentioned sheave to saidcarriage, and control means for said electric motor including anelectric switch carried by the railing aforesaid so as to be accessibleto workmen on said platform.

6. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, a movable carriage, and means for movingsaid carriage, said tower having two vertical rear corner posts, twofront corner posts inclining upwardly and inwardly relative to said rearposts, horizontal frame members interconnecting the posts aforesaid attheir lower ends, horizontal frame members interconnecting said postsadjacent their upper ends, a platform for workmen upon the lastmentioned frame members, horizontal frame members interconnecting saidposts at their upper ends and forming a protective railing about saidplatform for workmen thereon, ground engaging wheels supporting saidtower at the bottom thereof, said wheels being mounted for free angularmovement about vertical axes, whereby said tower and carriage as a unitmay be moved over the ground in any direction, track members disposedbetween and inclining in conformity with the inclination of said frontcorner posts, said track members terminating at and connected to thefirst and last mentioned horizontal frame members, said carriage havinga horizontal shelf provided therebelow with downwardly converging frontand rear supporting members, said rear supporting members being betweensaid track members and connected at their upper ends to said shelf atthe rear thereof, said front supporting members being terminallyconnected to said rear supporting members adjacent their lower ends andto said shelf at the front thereof, rollers carried by said rearsupporting members adjacent the connection thereof with said frontsupporting members and engaging said track members, whereby saidcarriage may move lengthwise of said tower to project the shelfaforesaid above the railing aforesaid, so that an article carried bysaid shelf may be positioned at the proper elevation for directattachment to a part of an overhead construction of said building, themeans for moving said carriage relative to said tower including anelectric motor mounted on said tower intermediate the upper and lowerends thereof, a drum driven by said electric motor, a sheave carried byone of the first mentioned horizontal frame members, a second sheavecarried by said railing and a cable extending from said drum beneath thefirst mentioned sheave and over the second mentioned sheave to saidcarriage, said shelf being provided with rollers on which an article tobe assembled may be supported and moved relative to said shelf.

7. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, a movable carriage, and means for movingsaid carriage, said tower having two vertical rear corner posts, twofront corner posts inclining upwardly and inwardly relative to said rearposts, horizontal frame members interconnecting the posts aforesaid attheir lower ends, horizontal frame members interconnecting said postsadjacent their upper ends, a platform for workmen upon the lastmentioned frame members, horizontal frame members interconnecting saidposts intermediate the frame members aforesaid, horizontal frame membersinterconnecting said posts at their upper ends and forming a protectiverailing about said platform for workmen thereon, ground engaging wheelssupporting said tower at the bottom thereof, said wheels being mountedfor free angular movement about vertical axes, whereby said tower andcarriage as a unit may be moved over the ground in any direction, trackmembers disposed between and inclining in conformity with theinclination of said front corner posts, said track members terminatingat and connected to the first and last mentioned horizontal framemembers, said carriage having a horizontal shelf provided therebelowwith downwardly converging front and rear supporting members, said rearsupporting members being between said track members and connected attheir upper ends to said shelf at the rear thereof, said frontsupporting members being terminally connected to said rear supportingmembers adjacent their lower ends and to said shelf at the frontthereof, rollers carried by said rear supporting members adjacent theconnection thereof with said front supporting members and engaging saidtrack members, whereby said carriage may move lengthwise of said towerto project the shelf aforesaid above the railing aforesaid so thatanarticle carried by said shelf may be positioned at therproper elevationfor direct attachment to a part of an overhead construction of saidbuilding, said track members being generally 'C-shaped in cross sectionand receiving the rollers of said carriage, the means for moving saidcarriage relative to said tower including an electric motor mounted onone of the third mentioned horizontal frame members, a drum driven bysaid electric motor, a sheave carried by one of said first mentionedhorizontal frame members, a second sheave carried by said railing, and acable extending from said drum beneath the first mentioned sheave overthe second mentioned sheave to said carriage.

8. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, a movable carriage,-and means for movingsaid carriage, said tower having two vertical rear corner posts, twofront corner posts inclined upwardly and inwardly relative to said rearposts, horizontal frame members interconnecting the posts aforesaid attheir lower ends, horizontal frame members interconnecting said postsadjacent the upper ends, a platform for workmen upon the last mentionedframe members, horizontal frame members interconnecting said posts attheir upper ends and forming a protective railing about said platformfor workmen thereon, ground engaging wheels supporting said tower at thebottom thereof, said wheels being mounted for free angular movementabout vertical axes whereby said tower and carriage as a unit may bemoved over the ground in any direction, track members disposed betweenand inclining in conformity with the inclination of said front cornerposts, said track members terminating at and connected to the first andlast mentioned horizontal frame members, said carriage having ahorizontal shelf provided therebelow with downwardly converging frontand rear supporting members, said rear supporting members being betweensaid track members and connected at their upper ends to said shelf atthe rear thereof, said front supporting members being terminallyconnected to said rear supporting members adjacent their lower ends andto said shelf at the front thereof, and rollers carried by said rearsupporting members adjacent the connection thereof with said frontsupporting members and engaging said track members whereby said carriagemay move lengthwise of said tower to project the shelf aforesaid abovethe railing aforesaid so that an article carried by said shelf may bepositioned at the proper elevation for direct attachment to a part of anoverhead construction of said building.

9. In apparatus for making overhead assemblies during the constructionof buildings, a movable tower, a movable carriage, and means for movingsaid carriage, said tower having two vertical rear corner posts, twofront corner posts inclined upwardly and inwardly relative to said rearposts, horizontal frame members interconnecting the posts aforesaid attheir lower ends, horizontal frame members interconnecting said postsadjacent the upper ends, a platform for workmen upon the last mentionedframe members, horizontal frame members interconnecting said posts attheir upper ends and forming a protective railing about said platformfor workmen thereon, ground engaging wheels supporting said tower at thebottom thereof, said wheels being mounted for free angular movementabout vertical axes whereby said tower and carriage as a unit may bemoved over the ground in any direction, track members disposed betweenand inclining in conformity with the inclination of said front cornerposts, said track members terminating at and connected to the first andlast mentioned horizontal frame members said carriage having ahorizontal shelf provided therebelow with downwardly converging frontand rear supporting members, said rear supporting members being betweensaid track members and connected at their upper ends to said shelf atthe rear thereof, said front supporting members being terminallyconnected to said rear supporting members adjacent their lower ends andto said shelf at the front thereof, and rollers carried by said rearsupporting members adjacent the connection thereof with said frontsupporting members and engaging said track members whereby said carriagemay move lengthwise of said tower to project the shelf aforesaid abovethe railing aforesaid so that an article carried by said shelf may bepositioned at the proper elevation for direct attachment to a part of anoverhead construction of said building, said shelf being provided withrollers on which an article to be assembled may be supported and movedrelative to said shelf.

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